


The Bad News And The Good

by afteriwake



Series: Stuff Of Improbable Legends [98]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Bittersweet Ending, Breakfast in Bed, Cutesy, F/M, Inspired by Roleplay/Roleplay Adaptation, John is cute, Molly Hooper/Mary Morstan Friendship, Molly Remembers Series 4, POV Mary Morstan, Parents John & Mary, Presents, Roleplay Logs, Sad Mary, Second Chances, Texting, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2017-02-16
Packaged: 2018-09-24 19:30:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9781955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Mary had hoped for better news to start her holiday off, but at least she knows now that whatever awaits her at home, it's no better than what she has here, and she can celebrate today knowing that New Orleans is the best place to be.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sideofrawr](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sideofrawr/gifts).



> I had to. I _had_ to. Forgive me, **sideofrawr**? Based on the prompt “ _'What’s with the box?'_ ” from [this list](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/142534142233/random-sentence-starters).

She had been up with Rosamund, hoping to catch her husband asleep to surprise him when the text message from Molly arrived. _Do you remember?_ it read. There were all sorts of things she remembered yes, but she had the feeling Molly meant something...big.

She set the coffee on and got Rosie occupied in front of the telly for a moment before she sat down on the sofa. _Remember what exactly?_ she texted back.

_Home. After Sherlock shot that bastard._ came the reply.

_We left him on the tarmac and then his bloody arse ODed and then life went more or less back to normal._

_But not how you remember it,_ Molly said.

She screwed her face up. What did Molly _mean_ by that. _What’s going on?_

_I woke up with memories of home I didn’t have before,_ came the reply after a pause. _You didn’t?_

Mary lowered her phone. Molly had new memories. Molly had memories of after the time she had arrived in Lawrence. Or...perhaps before? It wasn’t making sense. She thought for a moment. She knew that some of them were fictional. Perhaps in the larger scheme of things, she and John and Molly were too, just not in this world. Perhaps when she had arrived, her story hadn’t been written past the point when Sherlock was on the plane.

And now it was.

She picked up her phone again. _How much shite does Sherlock get us into?_ she asked. There was a long pause, far longer than she had expected. Finally, she let her thumbs glide over the buttons again. _Molly?_

_Don’t ever go back home,_ came the reply. _If you never get the memories, trust me. Don’t ever take your wristband off._

Well then. That was that.

She died.

_I won’t,_ she texted back before putting her phone out of reach and thinking about this. She had known it was a possibility. Her past was shady, far shadier than she thought John or Sherlock could ever dare dream, considering neither had looked at the AGRA drive as far as she knew. But it had been something she had lived with and resigned to her past, and it looked as if back home her past caught up to her.

Then that settled it. New Orleans was home, now and forever. She and John and Rosamund would stay right here and the Watsons would be raising their family with Molly and hers and things would be good. She would live, at least for now.

And today, she would show her husband all the love and affection and wait just a day to tell him about the text messages. It _was_ Valentine’s Day, after all. A day to think about love and romance and, especially, the future. Something they didn’t have in London. Something they would have here.

When the coffee was done she went to go put a cup in John’s new mug, a cutesy thing she’d thought would amuse the doctor in him. Breakfast had been finished before the coffee was done and so she plated up the full English and set it all on a tray to take to their bedroom. And wouldn’t you know, John was awake and noticing her side of the bed was full of pink and red and white wrapped boxes.

“What’s with the boxes?” he asked, yawning as he sat up.

“John Hamish Watson, if you say you forgot it was Valentine’s Day I might wring your neck,” she teased, setting the tray on his lap when he was upright. “Those are your presents.”

“They’re big boxes,” he said.

She shrugged. “Well, I thought it might be time to sexify your wardrobe, bit by bit.”

He chuckled at that. “Going to make me get rid of the jumpers, are you?”

“In a way.” She sat by his legs. “Spoilers?”

“Why not? I’ll just keep your present close to the vest.”

She smiled at him. “Most of those boxes are new jumpers. Sexier ones. I thought you might like looking less like a hedgehog and more like a sex symbol.”

“Does it get me any perks?” he asked before eating a banger.

“More kisses from me, for a start,” she said.

“I like that perk,” he replied. He ate the banger slowly and looked at all the boxes before pointing at one that was a bit larger than the rest. “That’s not jumpers, I take it.”

“Nope,” she replied. “More special. Gift from myself and your daughter. You, my dear, need a hobby. Fortunately, your very photogenic daughter provides the perfect one. You were just missing the right equipment which we have now so lovingly provided.”

He grinned more widely at that. “The box is too big for _just_ a camera.”

“First off, it’s a Nikon, so it’s not _just_ a camera, but you’re right. There’s all sorts of goodies for you to use with it too.” She reached over and caressed his leg. “You don’t have memories of Rosie when she’s young. And nothing we had from home is here. So...now we can take all the pictures we want. Make loads of new memories.”

“I think we’ll be doing it for years to come,” he said with a nod before taking another bite of his food.

She nodded, knowing he was right, so long as none of their bracelets came off. Because if they did, she had the feeling they would not all be going back to a happy ending.


End file.
